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Bayer Giants Leverkusen

CJ Oldham is a 26 year old 203cm forward that was born in Berlin, but grew up in the States and also in Germany. He started his basketball career at Akron in 2010, but played only 17 NCAA games in two seasons. He then transferred to Gannon(NCAA) in 2012 playing a total of 57 games and as a senior played 30 games averaging 5.9ppg, 4.4rpg, 2.4apg, FGP: 52.1%, FT: 73.2%. He started his professional basketball career in 2015 with BSG Bremerhaven (2.Regionalliga) playing 7 games averaging 14.6ppg. Lasts eason he played for the Kongsberg Miners (Norway-BLNO) playing 31 games averaging 9.9ppg, 9.5rpg, 2.3apg, 1.6spg, Blocks-5(1.0bpg), FGP: 57.5%, FT: 75.6%. He spoke to German Hoops about Basketball.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber interviewing CJ Oldham dad Calvin before a Alba Berlin game against the Fraport Skyliners in the old Max Schmeiling arena in Berlin in 2007

CJ thanks for talking to German Hoops. Where are you at the moment and how is your summer coming along?

I appreciate the opportunity to get a chance to talk with you. At the moment I am in Erie, Pa where I finished my college career. Summer has been great so far. I got a chance to spend time with my girlfriend, family, and friends after being away during my season.

Congrats on signing with the German pro B team Bayer Giants Leverkusen. You are coming from the first division in Norway from Konigsberg. After being a rookie with BSG Bremerhaven, how important was it for you to come back to Germany and play for a team?

Germany has always been like a second home to me. It’s a place where I grew up and learned a lot. To have the opportunity to come back to Germany to play is really exciting, especially Leverkusen where I spent many years.

Your dad Calvin has been affiliated with many teams in Germany like Bayreuth, Ulm, Alba Berlin or Bremerhaven. After being in the Bremerhaven organization you now are with Leverkusen where your dad once coached as well. What was the deciding factor that made you sign with this traditional team?

Leverkusen is a great club to play for and having a previous relationship with both the head and assistant coach made it an even better choice. I have known Achim Kuczmann and Hansi Gnad since I was young and I know having them as my coaches will help me improve as a basketball player.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber post game interview with Kerry Carter in 2016 in Germany

Kerry Carter is a 26 year old 188cm guard from West Covina, California that completed his second professional season and first with the Bayer Giants Leverkusen (Germany-ProB). Last season as a rookie he played for Iberostar Tenerife CB Canarias (Spain-Liga Endesa) playing 5 games: 3.2ppg. He started his basketball career with Citrus College and then moved to St.Mary’s, CA (NCAA) where he played 63 NCAA games and as senior played 31 games averaging 12.1ppg, 5.0rpg, 1.5apg, 1.5spg. He currently is tearing up the German Pro B league averaging 29,0ppg and spoke to eurobasket after being ousted by the Astrostars Bochum ending his season.

Kerry thanks for talking to German Hoops. You and the Bayer Giants Leverkusen were dismissed in the first round of the playoffs by Bochum. Are you back in the States or still in Germany? What did you do in your last days in Germany?

I’m still in Germany at the moment. I am not sure what’s next but I’m just training and staying sharp. The season ended too early for my liking, I’m not ready to go into offseason yet.

The Bayer Giants Leverkusen lost 2-1 against Bochum. How disappointing was this for you personally not being able to make a longer run in the Pro B playoffs?

Leverkusen had made it clear that the goal was to win the league and get promoted to Pro A, so losing was obviously a huge disappointment. No discredit to Bochum though, they brought more energy and they were the tougher team. A few plays could have changed the outcome of the series but that’s how it goes.

Kerry Carter is a 26 year old 188cm guard from West Covina, California that is playing his second professional season and first with the Bayer Giants Leverkusen (Germany-ProB). Last season as a rookie he played for Iberostar Tenerife CB Canarias (Spain-Liga Endesa) playing 5 games: 3.2ppg. He started his basketball career with Citrus College and then moved to St.Mary’s, CA (NCAA) where he played 63 NCAA games and as senior played 31 games averaging 12.1ppg, 5.0rpg, 1.5apg, 1.5spg. He currently is tearing up the German Pro B league averaging 29,0ppg and spoke to German Hoops after the 95-79 win against the ScanPlus Baskets.

Kerry thanks for talking to German Hoops 2017 is here and already in full swing. Did you make any new years resolutions this year or are you more a guy that doesn´t get involved with that?

I didn’t make any resolutions but shortly before the new year I gave up meat & poultry and adopted a pescatarian diet. It’s took a lot of discipline not to cave in at first but I’ve gotten acquainted with it.

Congrats on the big 95-79 win against the Giants Nordlingen. The Bayer Giants Leverkusen were already down by 10 after one quarter, but stepped up the defense in the second quarter while scoring 28 points. What adjustments did the team make to get back into the game?

We made a few adjustments to our line up and defensive approach but mostly we just kept playing. It’s a 40 minute game, so down 10 early never gave us any doubt. We never thought we weren’t going to win.

The Bayer Giants Leverkusen did a good job averaging 27 points in the last three quarters and winning the game with their offensive arsenal. Was the consistent offense in the last three quarters key for the win?

Offense was key. We had more guys in double figures tonight than the average night. Anytime we score that way, with several guys contributing, we’re a tough team to beat.

The EasyCredit BBL may still be a dream and as far away for the Bayer Giants Leverkusen at the moment as it is for the New England Patriots not reaching the playoffs again, but one thing is for sure over the last years, the club has brought in very raw talent and some of those Americans have blossomed in their short time shooting the lights out and having head coach Achim Kuczmann leave the court with a content smile more than once. Back in the 2010-2011 season, the club reeled in highly talented Josh Young out of Drake(NCAA) and he immediately tore up the Pro B playing 11 games and averaging 26.7ppg, 6.4rpg, 3.0apg, 2.3spg, FGP: 45.2%, 3PT: 45.3%, FT: 79.0%. He then went on to a consistent BBL career with the Walter Tigers Tuebingen. Three seasons later, the club brought in Josh Parker who was also a rookie like Young and he came out of Dayton(NCAA) having been a decent role player there and he rapidly displayed that he was way too good for the Pro B as he totally dominated leading the league in scoring at 28.5ppg), 4.5rpg, Assists-2(7.1apg), 2.2spg, FGP: 43.3%, 3PT: 33.9%, FT: 80.3%. He had 15 games where he scored 30 points or more including massive scoring explosions against Dresden with 48 points and 44 points against Schwelm. He also displayed a knack of not only hogging the ball, but being a fine playmaker as he dished out 10 assists or more four times. After this unforgettable season, he also made the jump to the EasyCredit BBL with the Mitteldeutscher BC and then gained further experience in Turkey and Poland. This season the Bayer Giants have another raw scorer in Kerry Carter who isn´t a rookie, but playing his second season after playing briefly last season in the best league in Europe with Iberostar Tenerife CB Canarias and showed his mastery scoring nine points in 10 minutes against Real Madrid. This season he is averaging 25,7ppg and 4,6apg in nine games and still has a bit of catching up on Parker´s 15 30 plus games as he is at four, but so far Carter has shown that he is too good for the Pro B. Almost four years ago, the Fraport Skyliners Juniors held Parker to his lowest point total of the season at 11 and kept him honest at 3/15 shooting. Carter made his debut in the BCM in Frankfurt where NBA players like Alan Anderson and Carlos Arroyo have tested the rims and was looking to give another shooting clinic and did scoring 24 points and even if he did shoot the ball 26 times, he did display his versatility as he can do so much more than just score as he gave out 10 dimes, hauled down seven boards and had four steals, but it wasn´t enough to bring home the win as the Fraport Skyliners Juniors squeaked out a 83-80 win as Mahir hit them with 30 and the winning bucket with a few seconds remaining winning their first home game of the season and third game of the season. After the game, one could sense that Kerry Carter was more than perturbed about the loss and he had erased everything about his own game as he was nibbling too much about the loss. “My own game wasn´t good enough today”, sighed Kerry Carter. “Carter is a good player that is hard to guard. He is one of those players in that when he puts up a shot, it has a good chance of going in”, stressed Alaska native Travis Thompson. Not only Carter was disgusted with the loss, but so was assistant coach Hansi Gnad. “It was dumb how we lost and we can´t really let that happen. Frankfurt played clever at the end. They gave the ball to Agva and he finished. I remember doing that from my days”, added Hansi Gnad. “We made shots and Agva was a big presence. The game was up and down and we were lucky that we won. We knew that they would rush and we wanted to slow down the game. This was a big home win and we can build off the momentum”, stressed Travis Thompson.

The game had an interesting anecdote in that 53 year old Hansi Gnad who is the assistant coach of the Bayer Giants Leverkusen had a similarity with 25 year Fraport Skyliner Junior Travis Thompson. Both played at Alaska Anchorage(NCAA2) and Thompson had the distinction of passing Gnad on the all-time scoring record into second place on his last field goal which gave him 1667 points while the German ended with 1666 points. After the game, Thompson revealed that he had spoken to Gnad before the game to catch up on this record and their old school. “This was the first time that I had met him. We played for the same coach Rusty Osborne and talked about him and I told him about the new facilities there. He is in the hall of fame there and it´s cool that I passed him and to know how much he has accomplished. One day I will be able to tell my kids what I did. It´s a small world”, commented Travis Thompson. Both teams found a healthy rhythm early as both teams found their range. Ex Tuebingen center Mahir Agva found his rhythm right away sinking a baby hook shot, but Kerry Carter responded rapidly nailing a trey for the 3-2 Leverkusen advantage. Agva continued to make buckets getting a lay in and ex Ludwigsburg German Stefan Ilzhoefer scored on the fast break to extend the Frankfurt lead to 6-3. Ex Dresden Titan Damon Smith knotted the score at 6-6 as he sunk a trey. Both teams continued to score at a high rate as Thompson nailed his first trey of the day and German Konstantin Schubert leaped into the passing lane like a guard and went coast to coast for the lay in and Frankfurt led 11-6. Leverkusen didn´t let up and tied the score as Michael Kuczmann tested his 46% three point percentage scoring and ex Rhondorf Dragon Tim Schon born got aggressive scoring inside as no Skyliner challenged him. After Ilzhoefer and Carter traded buckets, it was Agva that made an offensive rebound and put back and Thompson made his second three of the game as 17 year old Isaac Bonga made the perfect unselfish pass as Frankfurt led 18-13. Frankfurt kept the lead with a Ilzhoefer trey and Agva hook shot. Young 17 year old German Niklas Pons made a pretty floater to add on to the lead as Frankfurt led 25-19 after one quarter. “We moved the ball well on offense and Agva did a good job in the paint scoring. We still had too many turnovers”, warned Fraport Skyliner Junior Lenny Okeke. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors shot 52% from the field and 38% from outside while the Bayer Giants Leverkusen shot 41% from the field and 40% from outside. Frankfurt had the 10-9 rebound lead and two turnovers while Leverkusen had four turnovers.

The Bayer Giants Leverkusen came out red hot in the second quarter getting back into the game going on a 9-3 run to tie the game at 28-28. In the run, they were aided by young German big man Martin Linnsen who got to the free throw line twice and Carter scored a trey and an off balance shot. The game remained very close now as the Bayer Giants Leverkusen were able to tie the game a few times, but never get the lead. Rookie American Brandon Nazione tied the game at 31-31, but Thompson once again supplied the hot hand nailing a three, but Kuczmann thought two can play that game also scoring from the parking lot dead locking the game at 34-34. Frankfurt continued to keep the lead getting valuable production from Agva who scored twice in the paint as Frankfurt led 40-36. Frankfurt kept their nose ahead as Schubert scored in buckets and Agva scored again inside as the Fraport Skyliners Juniors had the slim 46-42 lead at the break. “Leverkusen went to zone and we had difficulty with that and they forced us to more turnovers. It was a back and forth game. I thought that we defended pretty well, but still didn´t do as good a job on Carter as we could off. We gave up too many open three´s”, stated Lenny Okeke. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were shooting 53% from the field and 38% from the three point line while the Bayer Giants Leverkusen were shooting 43% from the field and 59% from the three point line. Frankfurt had the 22-16 rebound edge, but nine turnovers while Leverkusen had six turnovers.

The third quarter remained tight as no team could run away with the lead. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors started off with a quick 5-0 run as Agva made a running hook shot and Thompson made the extra pass to a streaking Schubert in the lane for the easy basket as Frankfurt led 50-45. The Bayer Giants Leverkusen then rushed out on a 8-0 run to snatch the lead back at 53-50. In the run, it was Carter who played at St Marys(NCAA) that did what he does best and this is scoring in bunches as he lit up the scoreboard with a trey and then made a steal and went coast to coast and got a free throw. 31 year old German Gotz Twiehoff added on to the run with a lay in. the Bayer Giants Leverkusen were the more consistent offensive team now and were getting more stops. They continued to keep the lead as hot shooting Kuczmann connected on another trey as they led 56-52. They were able to extend their lead to 59-54, as Nazione made his second crushing dunk of the game. Basketball is and will always remain a game of runs and that is what the Fraport Skyliners Juniors practiced as they scored 9 unanswered points snatching back the lead at 63-59. In the run, Frankfurt got ample support from Ilzhoefer who had the needed extra energy which also gave their defense a spark as he made a lay in in traffic and also scored on the fast break. Bonga and Agva also scored. Smith hit a shot clock buzzer beater, but Frankfurt still led 63-62 after three quarters. “We had good ball movement and were more aggressive and did a good job attacking the rim”, stated Travis Thompson. “We had too many untimely turnovers and that will always cost you on the road”, stressed Kerry Carter. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were shooting 53% from the field and 31% from the parking lot while the Bayer Giants Leverkusen were shooting 53% from the field and 50% from the parking lot. Frankfurt had the 29-26 rebound edge, but 14 turnovers while Leverkusen had nine turnovers.

In the fourth quarter, The Bayer Giants Leverkusen had a horrible start, but the Fraport Skyliners Juniors couldn´t take much advantage of their first five possessions that led to no points. Tim Oldenburg started off the fourth quarter sinking a 20 footer and then Frankfurt stopped four possessions, but could score themselves. After making their fifth stop on Leverkusen, Thompson then hurt Leverkusen with a trey extending the lead to 68-62. However Leverkusen then finally scored their first field goal of the fourth quarter as ex Rollins(NCAA2) guard Alexander Blessing nailed a trey cutting the Frankfurt lead to 68-65. Frankfurt then got some quick offensive spark with a 4-0 run as Ilzhoefer scored on an off balance shot and Garai Zeeb scored an acrobatic finger tip floater for the 72-65 Frankfurt advantage. However just when it seemed like Leverkusen was wilting before crunch-time had even arrived, Leverkusen didn´t get that killer scoring touch from Carter, but from Kuczmann who nailed consecutive three´s suddenly tying the game at 73-73. Frankfurt then upped their intensity a bit more and were aggressive getting to the rim as Bonga drew two fouls and Agva made a tip in for the 78-73 lead. Frankfurt then made two huge mistakes letting 188cm guard Alexander Blessig get an offensive rebound and put back back to back cutting the Frankfurt lead to 78-77. Agva then made free throws and Leverkusen had 25 seconds remaining in the game and every one knew Carter would get the ball and he did what all big time scorers do which was nail a three pointer tying the game at 80-80 with six seconds remaining. Frankfurt had the ball and enough time to win the game. They elected to get Agva the ball and he finished successfully inside like he had all game long and then secured the victory with a free throw. “We started out flat and it was a game of runs. On that last play, I thought we did a good job denying him the ball, but they made a good back door lob pass and he did a good job getting to the rim. We did a good job taking away all their other options and he did what he had to do”, stressed Kerry Carter. “They didn´t deny Agva the ball bad, but it was a good play from us”, smiled Travis Thompson. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were led by Mahir Agva with 30 points. Travis Thompson added 15 points while Stefan Ilzhoefer had 12 points and Konstantin Schubert had 10 points. The Bayer Giants Leverkusen were led by Kerry Carter with 24 points and Michael Kuczmann added 15 points. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors shot 50% from the field and 30% from outside while the Bayer Giants Leverkusen were shooting 40% from the field and 32% from outside. Frankfurt had the 41-38 rebound edge, but 20 turnovers while Leverkusen coughed up the ball 14 times.

Every season there are always numerous new players that arrive in the Pro B to show their extraordinary basketball abilities with the hope of being able to showcase their talent to a vast array of people and hoping to continue to develop and make the next step at a higher level. The Dragons Rhondorf and Bayer Giants Leverkusen have three of these players that squared off against each other in the Dragon Dome with the one player big dawg Aaron Nelson that stands 203cm that cleans up in the paint area and at times is unstoppable and only content when he gets a double double as he averaged double double stats as a senior at S. Indiana and as a rookie in Chile with Los Leones de Quilpue. The other two players stood on the other side as one guy is a pure scorer and has the same last name as an ex American president. Kerry Carter who played at St Mary(NCAA) and last season had a 5 game stint in Europe´s best league in Spain Endesa with Iberostar Tenerife CB Canarias and racked up 9 points in 10 minutes against top club Real Madrid. The last player in this trio is an American that like Nelson loves to get physical inside and post double doubles and loves Manchester United. Brandon Nazione played at Eastern Michigan and has mixed it up in the Pro B this season and had his first very tough match up against Nelson. This game not only matched up three top players who wanted to do as much as possible to help lead their club to victory, but was also the homecoming of German Tim Schonborn who played three seasons with the Dragons amassing 78 games. With so many interesting side stories to the contest, one had the tendency to forget that the most important aspect to the evening was two teams battling for a win as the 2-2 Dragons Rhondorf were looking to keep their home record spotless while the Bayer Giants Leverkusen also 2-2 were still looking for their first road victory of the season, but that still had to wait as they lost their fourth game in a row in Rhondorf since 2008 92-87 in OT. In the head to head battle Kerry Carter finished with 31 points having a 27 efficiency rate while Aaron Nelson finished with 26 points and nine boards and also a 27 efficiency rate, but the Rhondorf American won the game. After the game, Nelson was torn and tattered as Leverkusen had really made him work hard for his pay check. “I take every game the same. We knew that Carter was a good scorer and we had to try to focus on him more, but also take away the rest of the team. He had a very good game and I am just glad we came away with the win”, stressed Illinois native Aaron Nelson. Carter didn´t show it with his game face still on after the game, but one could see that he was very peeved at the loss. “I never caught up in these type of matchups. Some players get overhyped while others are off the radar. Nelson is a great player and had a great game. I go into every game the same way no matter who we play”, warned Bayer Giants Leverkusen scoring ace Kerry Carter.

Kerry Carter is a 25 year old 188cm guard from West Covina, California that is playing his second professional season and first with the Bayer Giants Leverkusen (Germany-ProB). Last season as a rookie he played for Iberostar Tenerife CB Canarias (Spain-Liga Endesa) playing 5 games: 3.2ppg. He started his basketball career with Citrus College and then moved to St.Mary’s, CA (NCAA) where he played 63 NCAA games and as senior played 31 games averaging 12.1ppg, 5.0rpg, 1.5apg, 1.5spg. He currently is tearing up the German Pro B league averaging 29,0ppg and spoke to German Hoops after the 100-88 OT win against the ScanPlus Baskets.

Kerry congrats on the 100-89 OT win against the ScanPlus Baskets. How good was it getting your first professional win at home?

It’s been an adjustment coming from such a winning program in college but I’ve given the game everything and prepared well so I’m expecting more to come.

The Bayer Giants Leverkusen came out roaring scoring 25 points, but then were halted to 10 points in the second quarter. Was it special adjustments that the opponents made or was it just a lack of proper execution on the part of Leverkusen?

I think we didn’t score well as a team in the 2nd quarter because we turned the ball over too much. I take the credit for that. As the point guard I should have done a better job getting our guys going and finding them shots within the offense.

Damon Smith is a 28 year old 200cm forward from Milwaukee, Wisconsin that is going into his fourth professional season and third in Germany and first with the Bayer Giants Leverkusen. He started his basketball career with Ellsworth CC (JUCO) and then finished at Mary (NCAA2) and as a senior played 26 games averaging 16.5ppg, 6.6rpg, 2.1apg, 2.1bpg, FGP: 57.8%, FT: 67.9%. He started his professional career in 2012 with SISU Copenhagen (Denmark-Ligaen) playing 30 games averaging 15.8ppg, 5.3rpg, 1.4apg, FGP: 54.2%, 3PT: 35.1%, FT: 72.6%. In the 2013-2014 season he moved to Germany to the Dresden Titans (Germany-ProB) playing 27 games: 13.4ppg, 6.9rpg, 1.4apg, FGP: 61.5%, 3PT: 26.2%, FT: 69.2%. In the 2014-2015 season he stayed with the Dresden Titans playing 29 games averaging 12.7ppg, 5.4rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 51.4%, 3PT: 34.3%, FT: 69.4%. Recently he got further experience with Trigueros de Ciudad Obregon (Mexico-CIBACOPA). He spoke to German Hoops about basketball.

Welcome back to Germany. Congrats on signing with the Bayer Giants Leverkusen. This will be your third season playing in Germany. What makes Germany and it´s basketball so appealing to you as a professional player?

Thank you. What makes German basketball so interesting? I think it’s how very different it is from the way I was shown here. US basketball is worlds apart from German basketball. Not saying it’s a bad thing. Every country has their style but Germany is one of the areas that I’ve learned the most.